


First and Last Chance

by ani_bester



Category: Avengers, Invaders
Genre: Gen, Multi, Polyamory, space shuttle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-21
Updated: 2012-06-21
Packaged: 2017-11-08 05:51:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/439856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ani_bester/pseuds/ani_bester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Friends gather to watch the last shuttle mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First and Last Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Random ficlet is set in random time and may not fit with current canon stories, granted that's possibly evident by Bucky not being in a Gulag. Ann is the canon wife of Toro, girlfriend of Jim Hammond, (god bless Marvel) and hung around the West Coast Avengers and Namor's corporation thing. Also, I'm sure in the Marvel universe NASA is much snazzier than in real life…

Bucky lay wrapped in his soft cotton sheet, the secure warmth preventing the new day from intruding into his dreams for just a little longer. However, the weight that settled onto his shoulders along with the pricks of talons piercing sheet and skin dragged Bucky up from the world of dreams and into reality. 

"Sam, Redwing," he grunted. He tried to shake Redwing off but the stubborn bird moved with him. Bucky winced as the bird maneuvered over his shoulders. Bucky even shook his arm, but Redwing just squawked and settled back down then proceeded to squawk some more. 

"Sam!" 

"I hear you." 

Sam was at his door, laughing Bucky guessed from the tone of his voice. "Redwing says to get up before she makes your bed unseemly. That and you're the last one up. So much for all the army training, huh?"

Bucky flipped over so Sam could see him scowl as he made himself get off the bed. He'd promised too many people he'd be there, and it was his apartment, it didn't do for the host to not show. 

"I can't get up at 5, Sam, if I go to bed at 6."

"Speaking to the choir, man," Sam said, tossing a robe toward Bucky. 

Bucky caught the robe as he walked to his door. Sam gave him a thump on the back. "Smells good," Bucky said, breathing in the scent of home cooked food that came wafting down the hall from his living room. 

"Toro's been in your kitchen since pretty much he and Ann got here," Sam explained. 

Bucky gave a nod to Sam, acknowledging the explanation. As he turned the corner and entered the main living room, he smiled. Toro bantered with Ann and Natasha as he set out a try of some kind of small muffins onto the coffee table. Steve, meanwhile was glancing at the funnies in the paper. He gave one furtive glance around as though he expected to be chided for reading the funnies rather than the news.

"Morning, Bucky," Natasha called out. Steve and Toro both looked in his direction. 

"Hey Bucky, I've got one more thing to bring out then breakfast will be ready," Toro said. Grabbing a muffin, Toro popped it into his mouth than waved to Bucky and Sam before disappearing into the kitchen. 

"Morning, sleepy-Bucky," Steve said with a huge grin. He scooted down a little, making room between him and Natasha. Bucky sat down and reached for a muffin.

"Don't."

Bucky froze and turned to Ann who was smiling at him with a smile twenty years younger than she was. 

"Dear, never trust anything Tom grabs and eats to be cooled," she said with a warning wag of her finger. 

Holding his hand inches above the muffins, Bucky now noted of the heat radiating up from them. 

"Oh, Right," he laughed, withdrawing his hand and reaching instead for a bowl of sliced grapefruit. 

Without a word, Sam, Natasha, and Steve held sugar packets out to Bucky. 

"We don't want to hear you complain," Steve told Bucky as he sprinkled sugar over the fruit. 

"They all thought they were too sour," Toro commented as he came back out with a tray of glasses filled with apple juice. He squeezed the tray onto the coffee table beside the muffins and another array of fruits and then sat next to Ann on the loveseat. 

"You didn't have to make breakfast, Toro." Bucky told him as he reached into a couch cushion to dig out the remote. 

"Don't apologize to him," Ann said, patting Toro's knee. "He likes cooking for people. You'd have to apologize if you didn't let him do this."

Toro flushed, then looked at the still steaming muffins. "Oh, too hot right?" He held his hand out a little closer to them. "Ok, they should be cooler now, sorry about that." 

Bucky switched on the TV while Steve put the breakfast muffins on the plates and passed them around. 

"What are these, Toro?" Steve asked as he looked at the pale yellow muffin with dark brown flecks. 

"A sorta cornbread with sausage and egg filling," Toro answered, taking the plate Steve offered and passing it to Ann then taking one for himself. "Is Sharon coming? I made some without breakfast sausage in them for her. She mentioned hating it."

Steve shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. SHIELD never sleeps," he sighed. 

"But even Steve Rogers gets to take a morning off to see the last shuttle launch," Natasha quipped glaring in Steve's direction. "Bucky and I are under orders from Sharon to stop him should he try to work this morning just because she had to."

"You realize I outrank Sharon."

Sam, from Steve's other side, patted him on the back. "I'm sure you believe that," he laughed. "What about Jim," Sam asked Toro as Steve pushed Sam's hand away. 

"Off with Namor," Toro answered with a slight smile. 

"Who's probably not watching "sufacer nonsense" like this," Bucky chuckled. 

"You know," Steve said as he set the glass down on the coffee table. "I can't believe I never watched one of these. Who'd have thought Captain America never took the time to pay any attention to America's space program."

Bucky glanced at Steve, "Well that's because Captain America was indisposed in Russia." Steve tried to swat Bucky but Bucky caught his hand and grinned the old paparazzi grin he'd perfected. 

"I'm glad to get the chance to see one now," Bucky added as he tried to dodge as Steve took swipes at him with his other hand. "Especially as it is the last cha-" a yelp cut him off and he turned to glare, trying to determine who had swatted him from his blind side. 

Both Natasha and Toro sat talking to each other, both innocent. Bucky went with Natasha though, given he hadn't seen the swat coming. 

"I still can't believe this is the last one." Sam answered. "I remember getting all the kids in youth centers together to watch one. After a while though, I stopped. It just didn't grab the kid's attention." Sam shook his head then reached for another muffin. 

"Well with all the SHIELD tech people are seeing, I suppose a shuttle launch is too mundane." Ann replied. She eyed Steve and Natasha, "Weren't you two recently off-world?"

Steve's cheeks turned pink and he nodded. "Yes, but… but it's not the same somehow. Everyone was a part of these NASA programs. The common man could watch as we built the shuttles, as we sent first object then animals, then man into space. Looking at the books it seems the moon landing was shared among every American. SHIELD technology, as advanced as it is, never feels like it belongs to people the way these shuttles do."

"You ever get tired of being a hero, Steve," Sam chuckled, "You could write speeches for politicians."

"I trust someone here will kill me if it ever comes to that," Steve laughed.

Bucky raised his hand to volunteer but before he could comment Toro was shushing him. "It's starting."

"Kill the sound, please," Natasha asked, turning to Bucky. "I do not need to hear newscasters telling me how I should feel about this."

Hearing no other complaints, only mumbles of agreement, Bucky set the TV to mute. Then he leaned back, feeling Natasha on his left and Steve on his right, Sam's hand just barely brushing against his shoulders. The couch squished them all together. And just a few feet away, Toro was leaning against Ann as they watched, the countdown flashing on the screen. 

Bucky smiled, unable to think of a better way to watch a part of America passed into history and speculate on what the future would bring.


End file.
